Finally
by FyreBrande
Summary: LSF Revan & Carth, LSF Exile. Star Wars galaxy & KotOR belong to LucasArts and Bioware/Obsidian. this ended up way longer then intended, so i broke it into chapters...Revan leaves, Exile follows her...
1. Chapter 1

"You're going to leave soon, aren't you?" Carth's question hung on the air as he stood behind Kaiden. She sighed and turned from the window.

"Possibly," she hedged, hardly able to meet his eyes.

"Where are you going? If you were leaving?"

"I…" she shook her head. "Somewhere you can't follow. Somewhere I can't take those I love."

"I'm coming with you." The devotion in his voice cut to her heart. She knew things had to be a certain way, and that neither of them would like it very much. At all, actually. She loved Carth. The same way he loved her.

"You can't." The pain radiating from her light brown eyes took his breath away. "It's too dangerous."

"Too dangerous??? Rev- Kaiden, you say that like Manaan, and Tatooine, and Kashyyyk _weren't_ dangerous. And I don't care how dangerous it is, I'm coming with you. I would rather die than be separated from you, not knowing if you're alive or not. The last time I was apart from the woman I loved…" His voice broke. He was thinking about Morgana, and how she died, Kaiden knew it.

"I'm sorry about Morgana, Carth, and even more so that I am responsible for Telos--"

"Malak gave that order, not you. And I already told you, I tried to hate you for that, and I couldn't. Because I love you too much to lose you." The look in his brown eyes was so transparent, she didn't need to be a Jedi to read his mind. "That's why I _am_ coming with you, no matter how dangerous it is," Carth insisted.

Kaiden stifled a sob. This was going to be harder than she thought. "Hold me. Like you did on Coruscant, a year ago, after we defeated Malak, when life was simpler," she begged, leaning back against his chest. The faint scent of flowers drifted up from her hair, and Carth bent and kissed the base of her neck. "Carth, I couldn't…" her voice trailed off, and she kissed him hard. Unable to resist any longer, she let the tears flow when she pulled back. "I couldn't take you with me. The thought of having to watch you die," she shook her head, anguish stamped on her normally strong face, twisting her lovely mouth with unimaginable sadness, "I couldn't bear it. It would kill me."

"Kai, let me worry about surviving. I swore to watch out for you, protect you, from enemies _and_ the Dark Side. How am I supposed to do that if you leave without me?"

"Just knowing you're here, waiting for me will be enough."

Carth shook his head. "No. You can't leave without me." He squeezed her a little harder and pressed a kiss into her hair.

"I need someone to stay, keep the Republic strong." The desperation hemorrhaging from her voice evidenced how hard this was for her. "I need _you_ to keep the Republic strong for me. Can't have all that hard work, and nearly dying, and nearly losing you, go to waste can I?" Her attempt to perk up failed miserably.

"Oh, sure, bring that up. I've apologized a dozen times for--"

"Carth. I've _forgiven _you a dozen times for that. I understand totally. I would have _helped_ you kill Revan before I knew Revan was me." She bit her lip. "I even thought about doing it _after_ I knew Revan was me," she whispered so low he barely heard her.

"When?" Carth was alarmed.

"While we were flying to Lehon. You saved me, Carth. You repaid what you owed me a million times over. Knowing you were waiting for me, that you loved me, saved me from giving in more times then I want to recall."

"Well, you have a way of getting under a guy's skin, you know."

"I know." Kaiden smiled. "And I know _you_, Carth Onasi. That's why I know I can trust you to keep the Republic strong for me when I leave." He started to protest. "Please. Do it for me."

"That's a dirty trick. I thought we agreed the 'do-it-for-me' card was off-limits," Carth protested.

"No, we said emergencies only. And I count this as an emergency."

"Because I love you," Carth agreed reluctantly. "But I'll be waiting for you. No matter how long you're gone, Kaiden. I'll count the days and wait for you." He pulled her the extra four inches up to kiss her, long and hard. "Because I love you more than I thought I could love anyone after my wife died. I will do as you ask."

"Thank you. I love you too, Carth. More than I've ever loved anyone, more than I thought I _could_ love anyone," Kaiden confessed, sorrow etched deep across her face. "You have no idea how hard it is for me to leave you, knowing I might…"

"…not come back? You have to come back!" Carth was desperate, and didn't cared if it showed. "I feel like all that ever happens to the people I care about is pain and suffering. It's like losing another member of my family!" He raked one hand through his brown hair and sighed. "Promise me you'll come back, Kai, please."

She smiled tenderly. "I promise you won't lose this member of your family."

Three weeks later, she was gone. Off to battle the Sith, or atone for her past sins or whatever was necessary. She took T3-M4 with her, as well as the ring Carth had slipped under her pillow the night after she asked him to stay behind. There was no romantic promise to go with the ring, aside from 'Remember me', as he wrote in the note he left with it. Kaiden had left a note of her own on her desk.

_I will. I love you, Carth._

When he found it, Carth collapsed on the edge of her bed. "She didn't even say goodbye." In the privacy of Kaiden's room, where no one would see him or hear him, Admiral Carth Onasi gave in to the sobs thundering up his throat. He sat, head buried in his hands, for too long to measure. First Dustil left for some Outer Rim planet, and now Kaiden had gone beyond the reaches of the galaxy. He felt alone. So alone.

Three and a half desperate, aching years, filled with nights he spent staring at the ceiling unable to sleep, later, a soldier returning from a courier run to Nar Shaada mentioned seeing the _Ebon Hawk _while he was there. _Kaiden, _Carth thought, hope flaring in his chest.

"Who was flying it?" he demanded of the soldier, who was at first put off by the ferocity in his admiral's voice. Before he remembered.

"A blonde woman, a Jedi, I think. She had an ex-smuggler and an old woman with her. And a T3 droid. I heard someone call her 'Exile'. That's all I can remember," the soldier admitted, shaking his head. The hope died as quickly as it had sprung up. Kaiden was brunette. But,

"You say she had a T3 droid with her?"

"Y-Yes, Admiral," the soldier stammered.

"Thank you. That's all, soldier. You may go." The formalities of being an admiral bored him, especially without _her_ here to tease him about not getting to fly his own ship anymore. Ah, how he missed that feeling. He missed _her_ even more. Carth leaned back against the wall and lost himself in thought._ Her ship is back. T3 is back. She's not. Where is she?_ Every cell of his being desperately wanted the answer to that question._ Maybe she's dead. No! She can't be. She can't be. I couldn't live._ Bastila found him still leaning against the wall an hour later.

"Carth? The fleet is moving. They need you." He didn't move. "Carth. I know what he told you. She's not back. And she's not dead. I would have felt it though our Force bond," Bastila reassured him. "Go command your fleet. I'm sure you'll hear of her eventually."

"Bastila, it's been three and a half damn years! Absolutely no word! I feel I'll go insane if I don't hear _something_ from _someone_ soon." Carth raked his fingers viciously through his hair in the gesture of impatience she knew all too well.

Bastila laid a hand on his shoulder. "Carth, you have to trust her. She's strong. And with you waiting for her," she paused, "I'm sure she'll do everything she can to get back to you as soon as possible."

Carth went to Telos with the fleet a couple months later, upon receiving word a Sith ship had landed on the surface. The Exile was down there now, fighting her way through. Telos. He hadn't been back, been _home_, in almost ten years. "When the Exile returns, let her know I want to speak with her," he ordered Lieutenant Grenn.

"Yes, sir." Grenn had known Carth for years, and while he didn't know everything, he knew enough to piece together why Admiral Onasi wanted to speak with the Exile. "I will inform her personally upon her return."

"Thank you, Lieutenant."

Storm Solo was exhausted. The battle with Darth Nihilus had taken all the energy she possessed. Even with the aid of Visas and Mandalore, he had not been an easy foe to defeat. As her shuttle docked on Citadel Station, she was looking forward to being able to rest, if only for an hour. When she saw Lieutenant Grenn waiting for her, she swore under her breath and ran one hand through her short, grimy blonde hair. _What now? All I want is to wash off the sweat and sleep._

Lieutenant Grenn spoke before she could. "Admiral Onasi would like to speak with you, ma'am."

Storm sighed. _Ma'am_. "Very well. Lead on."

Carth rubbed the back of his neck as he surveyed the cratered surface of Telos. He itched to find out if the Exile had seen Kaiden. Even for a fleeting second. When Lieutenant Grenn escorted the young woman into the room, he could feel the exhaustion practically rolling off her narrow shoulders.

Storm's mind was on her bed as she followed the Lieutenant into one of the entertainment modules. She wondered what the admiral who had summoned her away from the few pleasures left to her at the moment looked like. The handsome, brown-haired man in his early forties startled her, she'd expected an old curmudgeon with gray hair and evidence of overindulgence hanging over his belt. The sorrow she sensed welling up in him was also a surprise.

"It's a little beat up, but it's still home." His voice had just the barest whisper of a rasp to it. "I wasn't here to protect it when the Sith attacked the first time. This time you gave me a second chance." He offered her a small smile. "I owe you."

"Grenn said you wanted to speak to me…about a mutual acquaintance," Storm probed, wanting nothing more than to finish here and crash on the_ Ebon Hawk_ while Atton flew them wherever they were going next.

Carth hesitated for a moment, trying to phrase his next statement right. The Exile was obviously impatient to finish here and get some rest. He didn't want to hold her up any longer than necessary, but he _had_ to know. "I've read your records, how the Jedi sentenced you. For doing what you believed. You wandered past the Outer Rim in your exile." He swallowed hard. "I ask you"-_more like beg you_- "did you find any trace of Revan?" Kaiden's old name stung his throat, but it was probably what this girl would know her by.

"Did you know her?" Forget sleep, Storm was genuinely interested. Particularly in how his voice caught when he said the name Revan. This was the source of his sorrow, or she was a Gamorrean.

Carth struggled to hold back the floodtide of emotions the Exile stirred up with her question, and tried to answer vaguely, not give details. "I served with her, like you did. And we had to part, like you did."

"Why?" It felt like her probing blue eyes could see right through the back of his head and read his thoughts. Kaiden used to do that.

"She said there were places where I could not go--places she could not bring those she loved. I've waited for her to come back for almost four years." _Three years, seven months, one week, two days._ "It doesn't get any easier."

His sorrow threatened to overwhelm Storm. She remembered the hologram she'd found in T3. _"She's strong, but she can't face everything alone_…_I_ can't_ lose her, even if she wants to be lost."_ She hesitated, unsure what to say. Part of her thought he shouldn't give up hope, but at the same time , four years was a long time. Storm spoke it more as a question then a statement: "Perhaps she died?"

Her words terrified Carth, brought out the icy voices that posed that same scenario in the pitch black of midnight. "NO! She's _not _dead!" His fear she was right increased the vehemence with which the words tore from his lips. "I feel like I would know!" he turned and looked out the window to hide the pain and tears in his eyes. "There's just this…emptiness…where she used to be."

The tidal wave of anguish rolling off him nearly took Storm's breath away as the full impact of it hit her. She didn't need to see his face to know how badly he was hurting. _How does he go on? _She tried to think of something to say, but there was nothing that _could_ be said. "I would have done anything she asked," he confessed. "And when she told me to stay here, to keep the Republic strong, that was the hardest of all."

"Why did she ask that?" The Exile shifted her weight to the other leg as she asked, and Carth felt she was honestly interested.

"I don't know," he admitted. "But it was important to her. She said that she believed something had been behind the Mandalorian Wars. That it hadn't been the Mandalorians' choice to attack the Republic. Whatever it was, I think she went off to find it…to fight it." He remembered that conversation. Kaiden had confused him to the extreme with her talk of ancient evils, but he listened, just to hear her voice.

"How did you know Revan?" Storm wanted details. The story was haunting; it was obvious the Admiral loved Revan, and if she had refused to take him with her, she must have loved him too. _Who cares about sleep? I'll sleep in space._

How did he know Revan? There were so many answers he could give. As the amazing woman he'd fallen in love with, as a redeemed Dark Lord, but he stuck with a simple summation of the history between them. "It was near the end of the Jedi Civil War, when it seemed like we were going to lose everything. We met on a Republic warship, called the _Endar Spire_. It was being attacked, over Taris, and the Sith had stormed the ship…" He let his mind drift back to those days as he told the Exile his and Kaiden's story. He told it all. How he'd trusted her more then he'd ever trusted anyone, how the attraction between them had grown. How he'd promised to protect her. How both trust and attraction had been nearly destroyed by Saul's revelation that Kaiden was Revan, the one responsible for the loss of all Carth held dear. How she'd fought so hard to hold onto him. How he'd tried to hate her and found he couldn't. How the attraction had turned to love after Kaiden faced Bastila in the Temple and renounced her dark past forever. Deciding he'd said enough, Carth summed up his recitation of their history. "We saved the Republic. But it was like the war didn't end for her. She would keep remembering things that she had done, and it kept driving her. And she kept using it as a wall between us." Carth stared out the window, remembering the arguments they'd had whenever she did that. " And I think she finally remembered something terrible she had done during the Mandalorian Wars. And she went to put an end to it. She left without warning. She didn't say where, only that it was to a place where she could not take anyone she loved. And here you return, with her ship, without her." The bitter disappointment that arose with finally putting it in words was indescribable. _Without her._

"Revan's ship?" The confusion in the Exile's voice was understandable.

Carth nodded. "Yes, wherever she went, your ship's been there." He hesitated, the desire to know eating him alive. "If…If you return to that place, if you find any trace of Revan…" he trailed off. If she was dead, did he _really_ want to know? If she was choosing to stay away for other reasons, did it really matter?

Storm felt her heart break for Onasi. That he missed Revan, or Kaiden, was plainer than a Wookie's appetite. When he trailed off without finishing his sentence, she spoke up. "Do you want me to tell you what I find?" She would probably end up out there soon as this more imminent threat was dealt with, she might as well look for a missing former Dark Lord.

The generosity of her offer warmed Carth. There was honest concern and care in her voice. But, "No." He sighed, heart breaking. "Simply tell her that Carth Onasi is waiting for her." The Exile nodded and turned to leave. Carth closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall. "Safe journey, exile."

Storm wanted to weep for him. The agony he must be feeling, not knowing if the woman he loved still lived or not, she couldn't imagine. How many nights did he spend staring at the ceiling, unable to sleep because the dreams of her were too painful to bear? How many hours were spent wondering what had happened to her? How many tears had slipped down his face over the possibility she wouldn't come back? Storm sighed and headed for the _Ebon Hawk._ It was time to rest. She would worry about all these problems after an hour long nap.


	2. Chapter 2

Two months later, after defeating Darth Traya, Storm set off for the Unknown Regions, following Kaiden's trail. Her goodbyes had been less sneaky than a farewell holocron left on her pillow. She had just told them all she was leaving, and she would be back. Atton and Mira had protested, but the Jedi needed them. They had both come so far. Storm chuckled at the memory of Atton trying to convince her to take him along, without sounding like he cared too much. She knew he liked her. Even if Traya had not revealed that--along with some less pleasant tidbits--, it did _not_ take the ability to read mind to see he cared about her. She cared about him too, but whether it would--or even could--develop into something more, she didn't know. Jedi weren't supposed to fall in love. It was forbidden. Storm sighed and returned her attention to the _Hawk_'s controls. Atton had given her a refresher course in how to fly the thing, and now she felt she could do it as well as him.

She decided to land on the first unfamiliar planet that crossed her path, three weeks later. Feathering the controls to keep the _Hawk_ from crashing, she landed in a canyon. There wasn't really much choice presented in the matter; the planet's surface was crisscrossed with canyons, gullies, and other trenches. Storm disembarked cautiously, a lightsaber in each hand, ready to defend herself in an instant. There were no immediate threats, though she could hear something that sounded less than friendly off in the distance. She set off to find and destroy the evil she sensed oozing out of the crevices in the rock.

Four years. Carth sat on the edge of his bed, hating the sun for rising, for marking the start of another day without her. Today was four years exactly since Kaiden left. It still hurt just as bad as it had then. Four years spent waiting, hoping, facing down the gnawing fear she had died and would never come back. He rubbed a hand along his jaw, noting absently that he needed to shave. The face that stared back out of the mirror at him exhibited loneliness beyond comprehension, in addition to a few more gray hairs then the last time he looked. _I blame you, Kaiden. If I wasn't so damn worried about you…_ Who was he fooling? He was forty-three, for crying out loud, they'd be gray even if Kaiden had never left. _I miss you, Kai. And I love you. Still_. He wondered for a moment if she could read his mind from a galaxy and a half away before turning his attention to making himself presentable.

Storm was thoroughly sick of this planet. The large, tusked inhabitants were proving hard to convince of her good intentions, and even harder to kill. As her success rate with former decreased, the rate of her being forced to do the latter shot through the roof. Storm huffed with aggravation and pushed back the frizzes of blonde hair creeping back down her forehead after defeating a particularly huge behemoth, three and a half meters tall. The cyan blade of her off-hand lightsaber traced dangerously close to her eye as she did so, and Storm chided herself for not deactivating it first. She pressed the buttons, and the cyan and blue blades retracted into the hilts, which she clipped to her belt. She had barely sat down to rest when she heard the sound of trouble drifting down the length of the canyon. Storm groaned, leaned her head back against the wall for a second, then stood and crept toward the noise. As she drew nearer, she picked out the sounds of a battle. This was not just a discontent monster waiting for a poor, exhausted, unsuspecting Jedi to wander around a corner. This was one (or more) of the creatures engaged in full fledged combat with someone. Storm activated her lightsabers, crouching in the stance Master Kavar had taught her, and inched forward until she could see around the outcropping. A woman with brown hair, wielding a double-bladed purple lightsaber, clad in Qel-Droma robes faced off against four of the monstrosities. _Four_ of them. And from the small heap of corpses at her feet, there appeared to have been more. Well, she couldn't let the woman fight all those things by herself. What kind of Jedi would she have to be to just walk away? Shrugging away her exhaustion, Storm joined the battle. The woman's strength shocked her. She dealt heavy blows, felling the creatures with ease. Storm simply watched her back and engaged the one enemy foolish enough to attempt to backstab a Jedi who wasn't alone.

After all the attackers were slain, Storm let her lightsabers hang loose in her hands. "Are you Revan?" It was the first question that popped into her head, since Revan was the only person she could think of who would be out here. The woman chuckled, tucked a couple stray, graying hairs back towards the otherwise rich brown ponytail, and smiled at Storm with a warmth she'd not felt in a she didn't know how long. Even Atton's smile wasn't so thrilling.

"It's been a long time since anyone called me that. Almost five years." The sad look in Revan's eyes spoke of how difficult those five years had been. "Everyone's called me Kaiden for quite a while." She caught Storm as the younger woman swayed with weariness. "Come, we both need rest. And I'm sure you'll want to hear more of my story, boring as I may find it. I sense a healthy dose of curiosity in you."

_Tell her Carth Onasi is waiting for her._ The Admiral's plea circulated Storm's brain. She had to tell Rev- Kaiden that she was missed. Loved. Longed for by a man so desperately and totally in love he would fly across the galaxy for her at a moment's notice. "How long have you been here?" It was a silly question, but the only one she could think to ask.

"Almost four years. I stopped on Nagi before coming to Ankus." Kaiden looked up from the holo-screen she held as she answered the question.

"Is that the name of this infernal place? Ankus?"

"I think so. And those things we fought are called cragmoloids. Lovely creatures. Smell only slightly worse after they're dead," Kaiden smiled again.

"I see why he misses you." The words were out before Storm could stop them, louder than she intended them to be.

Kaiden felt her breath catch in her throat. _He_ could only mean one person. Carth. The thought of him sent the ache to work gnawing on her insides again. "What?" she asked softly, images of him already dancing through her mind's eye at a rate that guaranteed she wouldn't be sleeping--again--tonight.

"I said I see why he misses you," Storm repeated, louder this time. The flicker in Kaiden's eyes was a mix of feelings so deep they tore at her soul. "I was supposed to give you a message from someone who misses you, though he didn't admit it in so many words."

"What?" The eagerness pouring out of Kaiden's eyes was all the proof Storm needed to be sure Kaiden missed Carth as badly as Carth missed Kaiden.

"He said 'Tell her Carth Onasi is waiting for her.' That's it. Sorry."

"It's enough." Kaiden leaned back against the rock wall of the small cave, closed her eyes, and smiled softly. _He's still waiting for me. After all this time. He still loves the Force for you, Carth Onasi. I love you._ "Thank you, Storm." She shook her head. "You have no idea-" Her voice caught as tears threatened to overwhelm her. "How is he?" she asked to change the subject.

Storm shrugged. "I only talked to him for a few minutes. It was more the sense of anguish rolling off him like a tidal wave on Manaan that clued me in then anything he said. How do you remember him?"

"Handsome. Brown hair, warm brown eyes that smiled even more expressively than his mouth. A smile to die for. I would do anything in the galaxy to see that smile for even a fraction of a second."

"I think when you return, you'll find there's the tiniest bit of gray in his hair, and a few care lines that you don't remember."

"Only to be expected. I'm forty now, and he's three years older than me." Kaiden smiled sadly. "We were supposed to do this growing old thing together. Not a galaxy and a half apart."

Storm felt sorry for Kaiden, for Carth. "Well, what are you out here to do? I could help you, get it done faster." She yawned. "Then you could go back to known space, back to him, that much sooner."

"Thank you for the offer."

"Can you tell me more about Carth?" She was bone weary, but for the moment, curiosity trumped exhaustion.

"He is a good man. He stands on his back foot when it comes to his beliefs, and would rather risk his own well-being or happiness than compromise his morals and ideals." The far away look creeping into Kaiden's eyes evidenced her losing herself in the past. "He could be _incredibly_ paranoid. Drove me _insane_. I took it personally for awhile, even though he said I shouldn't, until he told me about how his mentor betrayed him, and that resulted in the death of his wife." Kaiden shook her head at the memory and spun the small silver ring she wore on her left hand. "After that, I just tried to get him to trust me. Didn't take it personally when it took a little more work then an average person. When he finally did, I was thrilled beyond words."

"What was he like while you were searching for the Star Maps?" Storm had wondered about Kaiden's take on things ever since hearing Carth's side back on Telos.

"He was the real leader. It didn't matter how much Bastila stomped her foot or pouted about being a Jedi, Carth was really in charge. We all knew it."

"Why him?"

"Aside from having way more experience than Bastila, I mean, he was already a war hero, he honestly had _everyone's_ safety and succeeding in our mission as his top priority. And, if that's not enough for you, his humility and natural leadership kept him from constantly rubbing Bastila's face in that fact."

"Was she a pain?" Storm raised an eyebrow. She'd always heard Bastila's praises being sung for helping the Republic fleet destroy the Star Forge. The renowned Bastila Shan as a pain was a new thought.

"She could be," Kaiden admitted. "She'd nag you to death about responsible use of power, and the seriousness of the mission, but she did it because she cared. Mostly we found it annoying beyond all reason." She was quiet for a minute. "Did…did Carth say anything else about me?"

Kaiden had been dying to ask that since hearing Carth was waiting for her. When Storm nodded, her heart fluttered.

"Yes, he said more. But it was more what I could _feel _then what he said."

"Like what?" Kaiden leaned forward, eager to hear.

"Like he was sure you weren't dead. He was convinced he would have felt it, somehow. But he felt like there was gaping…emptiness where you used to be. He misses you so terribly, a brief taste of it threatened to overwhelm me. I don't know how he carries on, feeling like that every day."

A tear trickled down Kaiden's face. "What kind of woman am I? What kind of person can willingly cause that pain in another?"

"The kind who knows there are some dangers that have to be faced alone because of the cost to their loved ones. I have a feeling you didn't _want_ to leave him behind. You knew it would be too dangerous, especially for a non-Jedi. And you didn't want to see him hurt. "

"But I hurt him worse by not letting him come."

Storm yawned again. "Look, we're both exhausted. Let's get some sleep, and we can talk about this tomorrow as we vanquish evil to get you home to him."


	3. Chapter 3

Kaiden lay awake, staring up at the stars, as Storm slept. Her heart ached, knowing what she'd put Carth through the last four years, but she had a feeling Storm's last jewel of wisdom before falling asleep was true. She hadn't wanted to leave Carth behind. She'd had too. With no idea what she would face, she'd done the heroic and left him and everyone she cared about because, honestly, she would rather face the tortures of a thousand Sith dungeons than lose Carth. A battalion of Mandalorians would be an easier opponent than the emotions she would have to face if she lost him. Still, the image of him haunted her. _I…I love you._ His words whispered across her brain._ I love you, too._ The echo of their conversation on Lehon, after the Temple, tormented her. _I still love you Carth. Four years, two days hasn't changed that. Not a micro-iota. Knowing I can't return until I defeat whatever I find out here is all that keeps me from turning around this moment and flying home to you. Four years, two days._ The count she'd kept bounced around her mind. That was four years too long to be away from him.

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Carth watched the sun set in a blaze of orange and red. All he could think of was how much Kaiden loved to watch the sunset with him. They would sit on the roof of the barracks, her snuggled under his arm, and watch until the last trace of color had disappeared into the deep indigo night sky and the moons popped into view. Tonight, he watched alone from the roof of his quarters, which sat separate from the main barracks. Being an admiral had _some_ perks. Carth attempted to rub away the headache pulsing through his temples, without success. _I can't go on like this. Everything reminds me of her. Everything. I will truly go insane if this keeps up._ He sighed and looked out across the surface of Coruscant, cursing the fact that, of all the planets to be stationed on, he got the one that was one sprawling city. He hated cities. Too many people. Too many women who were _her_ size, who brought the memories screaming to the forefront and made sleep impossible. _You could forget her and move on._ The thought drifted in unbidden._ Never! I couldn't forget her, even if I wanted to, which I sure as hell don't!_ Carth raked one hand through his hair in frustration as the sun disappeared under the horizon line. This was hopeless.

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Storm and Kaiden spent almost two years searching for whatever it was Kaiden felt she had to destroy. Fortunately, enough of her memory came back that they knew what they were looking for. " It's like a Force spirit almost, for lack of a better term. It's pure evil, a spawn of the deepest reaches of the Dark Side. It could be used to turn Jedi to the Dark Side, or kill them if they refused. It made the very act of choosing the moment when you lived or died. When I came here as Revan, I was looking for a way to harness and use its power. It was in a temple, a very large, black temple, that seemed to breathe evil."

"Well, now all we have to do is find this temple and destroy this spirit, or whatever it is, and then you can get back to Carth." _And I can get to Atton, decide if there's any future between us._

"Who's Atton?"

"Huh?" Kaiden's question threw Storm off for a second, before she realized Kaiden read her thoughts.

"He's, um, one of my companions from my mission to defeat Traya. I helped him and a young woman start on the path of the Jedi. There were…hints that there might be something between us. I know he cared about me, but I don't know if it was anything serious, or just my Force bonds at work." Storm shook her head. "But it was just hints. Strong hints, but hints. And we're both Jedi, we're forbidden to fall in love."

"I know." Kaiden smiled. "If they make me choose when we get back, between being a Jedi and being with Carth, I will hand them my lightsaber, relinquish use of the Force, and run right to him." _Like I've wanted to do for five years, ten months, and one week as of yesterday._

"You know they will." Storm adjusted a couple of controls as they flew to a new grid to look for this temple. Kaiden was all to willing for Storm to fly. "The whole Jedi Code thing. You'll have to choose."

"Well, since I'd rather impale myself on my lightsaber than give up Carth, I'll be leaving the Order," Kaiden promised vehemently. Her resolve only increased Storm's dilemma, because if Kaiden left the Order, the role 'Protector of the Galaxy' would fall to Storm. Yet another argument against her and Atton. _You don't even know if there is a 'you and Atton',_ she scolded herself.

"Look at these reading," Storm said, tapping the view screen. "I think maybe we found it." The _Hawk_'s sensors had picked up a large building about three miles from their designated landing spot.

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Kaiden accepted the diversion from the topic of relationships. "Maybe. Put us down in the original spot anyway."

Storm nodded. "Alright. Any particular reason?"

"If there's life in that temple, I don't want them knowing where our ship is. The _Hawk_ is our only way off this rock. We've been at this for almost two years, I'd like to be able to get home after we win."

"Who says we'll win?" Storm's question triggered the icy fingers of doubt Kaiden fought from time to time.

"We will." She tugged her ponytail. "I promised him he wouldn't lose me. We have to win."

"Oh, so evil Force entities are forced to abide by our promises now?" Storm chuckled. "I promised Atton and Mira I'd be back too."

_You don't love them, miss them, _need_ them the way I do Carth._ The thought was unbidden, somewhat childish, but true. Kaiden shooed it away. "Just land the ship."

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Storm obeyed. Kaiden was slipping into a mood. Once the _Hawk _was safely down, the two women headed in the direction of the temple.

"You know we have no idea what we'll face in there," Storm pointed out.

"Your point?" Kaiden raised an eyebrow at the younger woman.

"Maybe we should set up a base camp out here, about a mile away from the temple, so we can retreat if necessary," Storm suggested, sweeping back her bangs.

"No harm in being prepared, " Kaiden conceded. When they got about a mile, maybe a little less, from the temple, they left most of their supplies. Cragmoloids weren't prevalent on this side of the planet, so hopefully the camp would still be there when they got back. Taking a deep breath, the women headed for the temple.

-----------------------------------------------------

_She bent to kiss him, smelling of flowers and just a little bit of sweat. "Miss me, flyboy?" Her smile was the stuff of dreams. "Only every day, beautiful," he replied, pulling her close._ Carth woke with a start and swore under his breath. Why did he keep dreaming about her? He'd been staring at the ceiling half the night and only just drifted off to sleep when _she_ came to haunt his dreams. She would be maddeningly close, and then disappear. It would drive him insane. Carth sighed and rolled over to stare at the wall and try to fall back asleep. Like so many other nights, he was unsuccessful. _Five years, ten months, two weeks, and four days._

_-----------------------------------------------------_

Kaiden and Storm approached the temple cautiously, despite its deserted appearance. Too many times an ambush would wait in a building like this. But when they mounted the long flight of stairs and reached the door, they still had yet to see anything that moved.

"It could take us weeks to find anything in this place," Storm whispered, hand on her lightsaber hilt.

Kaiden nodded. "And probably will." A sighing noise echoed down the corridor when they opened the door. "This place is creeping me out." Every sense on alert, probing the Force for any disturbances, they ventured down the hall. Kaiden opened the first door they came to. Storm held her breath until they saw the room was empty. They entered, looked around, and turned to leave.

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A Force ghost stood in front of the door, dressed as a Sith. Kaiden and Storm exchanged a glance, hands going to their lightsabers.

"Do not strike yet," the ghost warned. It reminded Kaiden of Ajunta Pall's tomb. "Do you come seeking power or to destroy it?"

"We come to remove an evil from the reaches of those who would use it."

"So you are here to destroy the Master." The ghost shook its head. "I cannot allow that."

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Storm instinctively prepared to fight. _How, exactly, do you fight a ghost?_ she wondered as Kaiden's saber hummed to life. Storm pressed the power switches and twirled hers around her hands as they activated. It only took two blows from each weapon for the ghost to fade and vanish. Kaiden and Storm looked at each other. _It can't be that easy._

" I have a bad feeling about this," Storm muttered, shaking her head as she realized she sounded like Atton.

A shriek resounded up the hallway. "Do not allow the intruders to the Chamber of the Master!!! They come to destroy!!!!!" _I knew it._ The women sighed at the same time.

"This is about to get a lot harder," Kaiden groaned. She didn't bother to switch off her lightsaber. She just opened the door, and headed up the hall way.

"Where are you going?" Storm demanded.

"Well, I want to see the ghost population come out. In theory, if they want to keep us from their 'Master', who--or what--ever _that _is, they'll congregate more thickly along that path. That way we'll at least know where to go."

"Good theory. What if they heard you and don't do that now?"

"Then we're in big trouble," Kaiden admitted. "But it's worth a shot."

"How does a ghost kill you, exactly?"

"I have no idea. We may find out, though I hope we don't."

"I hear you on that." Storm shrugged her shoulders to get her robe to sit right. "Let's go."

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There were so many Force ghosts crowding the hall, all they had to do was standing back to back and spin to actually hit something. But that only worked until they got dizzy, which happened to Storm faster then either would have liked. Then they had to rest. And it appeared the ghosts _had_ heard Kaiden's plan, and were clogged just as thick in every direction. _So much for that._ Kaiden swore to herself as she and Storm started their spin attack again.

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Kaiden's prediction proved true. It took a week and a half of battling ghosts to find their way through the maze of hallways and figure out where the Master's Chamber was: A small room on the temple roof, guarded by two huge teranterak ghosts, that didn't fall as easily as the weaker ones crowding the hallway. Kaiden and Storm were exhausted by this point. A week with no food and only a little water, battling ghosts every moment with hardly any sleep was not an asset in a fight. It took a long hard fight to get the ghostly teranteraks to fall. When they finally did, Storm was so tired she could barely stand, and Kaiden wasn't much better off. But the open door of the Chamber beckoned, and there was no rest for them until they triumphed. Kaiden staggered toward it, Storm right behind her. There were only three things in the room: a desk with a holoprojector on it, a box that looked like a very complex, intricate puzzle, and a Jedi corpse laying on the ground. Kaiden hit the button to activate the holoprojector, and a set of directions beamed into the air. It was instructions on how to release the power of the Master.

"That's no help. We don't want to release it," Kaiden complained.

Storm bent and pulled the Jedi's datapad free. "Maybe there's something on here." She pulled up the last entry. "Yeah, it says to do the steps to release the Master in reverse. That should permanently destroy it."

"Okay, what are the steps to release the Master?" Kaiden skimmed over the hologram. "We have to answer the questions as a Sith would, and then the box will return to 'puzzle' status. Then we have to undo the puzzle until it is completely disassembled. If we pull a piece out at the wrong time, a small army of ghosts will appear. Or probably as the Master senses its end drawing near, it'll call them anyway."

"You're just one optimistic ray of sunshine, aren't you?" Storm muttered, leaning against the wall. "The questions should be easy. Just answer like a Sith. I'm no good with puzzles, though. You'll have to do that part by yourself."

"Fine. Then help me answer these questions." Kaiden grabbed her arm and pulled her over.

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There were eight questions, and each one required you to answer correctly on the first try. They managed, barely. Storm almost said the wrong thing on the last question, but Kaiden corrected at the last second, and the box made a hissing noise. Thin lines evidenced where the edges of the pieces were. "Alright, here we go." Kaiden turned the cube over in her hands until she found the first piece. She slipped it out and laid it on the ground. As she figured out more and more of the pieces, an agitated hum rose from the cube. When she removed the piece her fingers curled around, the hum rose in pitch and intensity, and a murmur began outside the door.

Storm looked at her dejectedly. "Why did you have to be right?" She pushed away from the wall and activated her lightsabers as a flood of ghosts crowded through the door. Storm managed to hold her own, but the steady, high-pitched hum emitting from the cube only grew in intensity as Kaiden pulled piece after piece free until it threatened to steal her sanity. "How much longer?"

"Almost got it." Kaiden wriggled a piece free and laid it on the ground, then counted the remaining parts. "Only five left."

"Good. I can't do this much longer," Storm panted, slicing through a ghost of a Dark Jedi. Kaiden hurried upon seeing how worn out her friend was. There was a small break in the wave of ghosts, and Storm leaned against the wall to catch her breath.

"Gotcha!" Kaiden announced in relief as she separated the final two pieces of the puzzle. An unearthly shriek echoed around the chamber and rose in intensity until it was nearly unbearable. Force lightning shot from the walls and spidered around the chamber, coursing through the bodies of both women for a full ten seconds. They screamed in agony and collapsed to the ground when the lightning subsided, barely breathing.


	4. Chapter 4

Kaiden sat up and groaned at the pain. Her muscles spasmed, arms shaking and folding close into her twitching body. She struggled to regulated her breathing. _Damn, that hurt. _After her head decided to stay put, she shakily got to her feet and crossed to where Storm still lay. Concern etched across her face when Kaiden felt how faint the pulse fluttering through her friend's wrist was. Storm had gotten it worse, that was plain. Kaiden knelt, scooped her up, and staggered toward the stairs. _No more ghosts,_ she begged silently. _Not now. I can't… _

_------------------------------------------------------------------_

When she finally stumbled into their 'base camp', Kaiden's legs gave out and she collapsed again. This was her third fall since making it out of the temple. She knelt, head bowed, for a moment, waiting for the dizzy spell to pass. When her head cleared, she grabbed a blanket and laid it over Storm and sat down next to her. A residual twitch seized Storm's body, and she curled in on herself for a second.

"I guess there's nothing to do but wait," Kaiden muttered to the murky sky. "Neither of us is going to make a two mile hike anytime soon."

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Storm woke to dark, starry skies and the sound of Kaiden sniffling. "What's wrong?" she croaked, trying to sit up. It hurt too much. "Ouch!"

"Nothing. Take it easy," Kaiden instructed. "You got it much worse then I did."

"Yes, Mother."

Kaiden rolled her eyes. "Is that all the thanks I get for lugging you down two long flights of stairs and across a mile of rough terrain?"

"Yep." Storm grinned. "What happened?"

"Best I can figure, the 'Master' didn't like us destroying it. It unleashed enough Force lightning for six or seven Malaks. You got it worse because you were leaning against the wall, and you were more tired. Here." Kaiden handed Storm some of the food.

"Thanks." They sat in silence for a few minutes while they chewed. "Well, I guess we get to go home now."

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_Home. _The word resonated deep inside Kaiden. _Carth. I'm coming, love. Keep waiting. I'm coming._ "I guess so. Where should we head?"

"Coruscant. The Jedi Temple is there, and I think Carth's stationed there, too."

"Sounds good to me. Think you can walk?"

Storm nodded. "I think so." She stood, leaned against a rocky outcropping for a second as the planet tipped under her feet. Once the ground held still, she managed a few shaky steps. "It'll be slow going, but I think I can make it."

"Will you make it and still be able to fly?" Kaiden crossed her arms. "You know if you leave the flying to me, we won't make it past Manaan."

"Like I said, I think so."

"Well, then, let's go." The two packed up the camp and headed for the _Ebon Hawk_. "How do you think things will go with Atton?"

Storm sighed. "I don't know, honestly. I think there could be something there, if we gave it a chance, but if you're leaving the Order, I think I should stay to be 'Defender of the Galaxy' or whatever. Besides, I could just have imagined it, or it may've been a Force Bond influenced thing." She tried to pull a hand through her hair, but got hung up on a tangle. "Ow! Anyway, it's not important. I'll worry about when we get to Coruscant."

"We _do _have a three week flight ahead of us," Kaiden pointed out in a grouchy tone. "Prob'ly be the longest three weeks of my life. After five years, ten months and three weeks of waiting, these three weeks are going to seem ten times longer than all of that. "

----------------------------------------------------------

Carth paced across his office for what felt like the two thousandth time. He didn't know why he was so edgy today. It was as if something important was happening and he'd forgotten he was supposed to be helping. Like the one and only time he forgot Morgana's birthday. His eyes fell on the holocron of him and Kaiden right after the Star Forge. Mission had captured the image on the sly and given it to him later. Kaiden was asleep, her head on his shoulder. He'd put the _Ebon Hawk_ on autopilot rather than get Bastila to fly. A sad smile crooked Carth's mouth. _Where are you, beautiful? Today is one month shy of six damn years. Are you coming back? Or did you really die out beyond the Outer Rim?_ He was pulled from his musings by a loud crash followed by a string of cursing in three different languages coming from the starfighter bay. _What now?_ He headed out to see what the problem was, nearly running into the ensign sent to get him.

"S-Sorry , Admiral," the young man stammered.

"No problem, Orin. What's wrong?"

"Kaz dropped his hydrospanner in the engine of the ARC Starfighter he's fixing. When he reached in to get it out, he accidentally stripped the spark plugs. Shocked himself and Arrik," Orin explained on the way to the bay.

"The crash was…?" Carth hinted.

"Oh, Kaz banging his head against the inside of the ARC."

"Wonderful. Let's see what I can do."

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"I don't believe this!" Kaiden moaned. The _Hawk _had groaned and coughed, but refused to start for Storm. With another groan, this one of disgust, Kaiden stripped off the outer Jedi robe and flipped open the engine compartment. "Lessee what I can do to this baby." Storm watched in amusement as the upper half of Kaiden's body disappeared inside the engine. "Unnh. Here we are. Fried two of the spark plugs. I can probably jerry-rig it so we can get somewhere with civilization, but we're going to need to replace them. Just means an extra stop, couple hours on Manaan or someplace." _I'm coming, flyboy. Just a little delay. _

_--------------------------------------------------------------------_

Carth walked over to where Kaz and Arrik stood, still arguing and cursing, Arrik switching between Basic and Twi'lek. "What's the problem?"

"Didn't Orin tell you, Admiral? This bantha-brain," Arrik pointed at Kaz, "dropped his hydrospanner in the engine, stripped the spark plugs and shocked both of us trying to retrieve it."

"Let me see."

"You're welcome to look, Admiral, but he just ruined a 50,000 credit engine." Arrik crossed his arms and watched as Carth stuck his head inside the engine.

_I'm going to ruin this uniform. Oh, well._ "He didn't strip the spark plugs. He scraped against one of them, it sparked like a stripped one, and you all assumed the worst," Carth muttered, tired of paranoid, finger-pointing technicians. "I think I can fix it. Pass me that hydrospanner." Kaz handed him the tool. Carth adjusted the scraped spark plug, jerking backwards when it sparked on him too. "Ouch!" He banged into the inside the engine compartment. He ducked and reemerged, rubbing the back of his head. "Good as new."

"Thanks, Admiral. You okay?" Kaz looked concerned.

"I will be."

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Storm and Kaiden stopped on Manaan to get a new pack of spark plugs. What should have been a two hour stop at the longest turned into a day and a half wait, most of which Kaiden spent pacing across the cockpit of the_ Ebon Hawk, _because the dealer was out of spark plugs and they had to wait for his supplier to restock him. Finally, though, they were headed to Coruscant. To Carth. To Atton. Home.

"Can't you fly any faster?" Kaiden demanded three days into the trip.

"That's the fifth time you've asked me that! No, I can't go any faster. The _Hawk _only makes it _to_ lightspeed, not _past_ it. Asking multiple times won't change my answer," Storm grumped. "I'll be happy when we get back because it'll mean you'll stop harping on me to do the impossible."

"Sorry." Kaiden sank into the copilot chair and started to spin it back and forth, pushing off the floor with one foot. "I just…I don't know…really want to get back to him." She sighed. "I feel like the longing is finally going to drive me insane if I don't find myself inside a Carth hug sometime _very_ soon."

"I really want to see Atton, too, you know," Storm pointed out.

"True, but you aren't absolutely, completely in love with him like Carth and I." Kaiden slumped lower in the seat.

"I grant you that. I don't think _anyone_ is as in love as you and Carth."

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They landed on Coruscant two weeks later. Something else went wrong with the _Hawk_'s engine as they passed Tatooine, forcing another stop, this one a week long as the mechanic had to specially order the part they needed. Kaiden nearly tore her hair out. As the _Hawk_ came to rest on the Coruscanti landing pad, she was already moving toward the door controls._ Five years, eleven months, three weeks._ _Thank the Force for lightspeed. _She slapped the button and was halfway down the ramp before Storm finished powering down the engines.

"Meet you at Teele's Cantina in an hour and a half!" Storm hollered after her.

"Count on it!" Kaiden called back over her shoulder as she tore out of the hanger. She didn't stop running until she got to the military base, and even that was only a ten second halt to beg the location of Carth's quarters from the gate guard. She slowed as she approached the small, one story building that was home to the man she loved, tried to catch her breath. _Finally, finally, finally. I'm back, flyboy. _She walked up to the door, nerves fluttering, quick pulse due to more than her dash across half the planet. There was no lock or security code to the door. With the rate Admiral's quarters usually changed hands, switching it for every new person would be too much of a hassle. Kaiden pressed the switch that activated the door. It slid open and she stepped in, heading down the hall, past the darkened front room.

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Carth heard someone enter. He didn't share the quarters with anyone, and anyone higher in the chain of command would have made him come to them. He pushed himself out of the chair he'd been sitting in in the small, dark front room, trying to chase away the persistent headache that still lingered three weeks after smacking his head. When he stepped into the hall, behind the intruder, he didn't believe his eyes.

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"Kaiden??" The whisper came from behind her. Kaiden spun on the heel of one boot. Carth stood between her and the door, staring at her like he was terrified he was dreaming.

She smiled. "Carth, I…" She couldn't think of anything to say. What _did_ you say in a situation like this?

"Kai, is it really you?" His almost disbelieving question freed her feet from the floor and she flew across the five feet of hallway that separated them.

She flung herself into his arms, fingers digging into the fabric of his flight jacket, head resting where it always had, nestled between his shoulder and chin. "Yes, love, it's really me. I am not a dream, a vision, a hallucination, or a hologram. I am really, truly home." His arms settled around her, one around her shoulders, the other lower to circle her waist, just like before.

"Can't blame me for wondering, beautiful. I've only dreamed about you coming back every night since you left. I was always hoping it was real, and it never was. I was beginning to worry…" he trailed off and sighed.

"If I was coming back? You don't think I'd let some Sith kill me when I had you waiting for me, did you?" Kaiden smiled, then pushed herself up onto her toes and kissed him, long and hard. "I know it was a long time--"

"One week shy of six damn years, beautiful," Carth pointed out with a wry chuckle.

"Let's just call it six years," Kaiden suggested, snuggling closer into his chest.

"I can do that, gorgeous." Carth obliged, hugging her close for a moment. "Here, I want to show you something." He led her up to the roof. "One of the few perks I managed to find to living in a city."

"Oh, wow," Kaiden gasped. The view was incredible.

---------------------------------------------------------------

Carth smiled to himself at her reaction, head still spinning as the realization that she was really, truly, honestly _home_ fully sank in. _Funny, my headache's gone. _"Here, Kaiden." He sat on the ledge and pulled her into his lap. He chuckled as she wiggled closer in. "Yes, by all means, beautiful, get comfortable, 'cause I don't plan on letting you go anywhere anytime soon." He laced his fingers in between hers. "You're still wearing the ring." He brushed one knuckle against it as he squeezed her hand.

----------------------------------------------------------------

"I promised to. And I don't renege on my promises, Onasi," Kaiden chided, feeling her inside curl with pleasure as his face shaded with that adorable blush she remembered.

"Well, it looks a little worn out. Maybe I should give you another one." Carth slipped one hand free of hers and into his pocket. "Like this one." He pulled out the flat black ring box, worn from residing in the same place for six years. "Y'know, Kai, I'm going to expect a bit more with this one."

_I hope he means what I think he means…._"As in?" Kaiden eyed him with hopeful suspicion as Carth opened the box to show her the ring. It was gorgeous. The slender silver band was split around the middle by a jagged line of blue translucent stone.

"As in, will you marry me?" He knew her answer almost before he asked. She was so beautiful speechless.


	5. Chapter 5

"Carth…" Kaiden just stared at him, then at the gorgeous ring, for a minute, brain processing what he'd just asked, unable to breathe, before shrieking, "YESSS!!! What took you so long??"

"Well, you were a galaxy and a half away for six years, beautiful." He pulled her closer, surprised it was even possible, and kissed her, longer and harder than she'd kissed him inside. "Now that we have the important thing out of the way, fill me in. I want to know what happened to you out there."

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Storm felt her stomach knot with apprehension as she mounted the Academy steps. She hadn't been here in more than ten years. But Mira had promised that she and Atton would come here, if she had to drag him by the hair. As she entered the front door, Storm nearly ran into the protocol droid standing in front of it.

"Oh, I am so sorry, Master Jedi," the droid intoned.

"No, it was my fault." Storm insisted. _That's what you get for not watching where you're going._ "Could you, by chance, tell me where I might find someone?"

"If you seek a Jedi, I believe I shall be able to render assistance."

"I'm looking for Atton Rand." Storm held her breath while the droid searched its memory files._ Atton, if you got yourself killed--_

"Master Rand's room is on the third floor, Corridor 6, Room 613. I believe he is currently there."

"_Master???_" Storm demanded, stunned.

"Yes. Master Rand selected his apprentice just over a year ago."

_Will wonders never cease? _Storm thanked the droid for its help and headed for the elevator. She used the brief ride to try to collect her thoughts. As the door whooshed open, she took a deep breath and headed down Corridor 6. When she reached Room 613, she pressed the comlink.

"Who is it?" The voice was too young to belong to her former scoundrel.

"An old friend, here to see _Master_ Rand," Storm chuckled. The door slid open, revealing a lanky boy of fourteen or fifteen, his black hair in the traditional Padawan style, his green eyes curious. "Hello. Is Atton here?"

"Yes. Did you want to see him?"

"If I could." Storm nodded. The boy turned and left the room. She took a deep breath and ran one hand nervously over her hair. The few seconds the boy was gone seemed like a lifetime. When Atton came through the doorway and saw her, Storm nearly laughed at his expression. "Hey, flyboy."

"Storm???" The utter disbelief in his eyes was almost funny. "When did you get back?"

"About twenty minutes ago. So, tell me, _Master_ Rand, how life's been treating you."

"Oh, alright, until about ten seconds ago. Then it started treating me fantastic." He grinned. "You met Ayin, right?"

"I'm assuming you mean the young man who let me in? Yes, but he didn't introduce himself," Storm replied, glancing at the boy.

"Well, then, Storm Solo, meet Ayin Flynt, my apprentice." Atton rested one hand on the boy's shoulder as he spoke, grinning.

"Yes, when I heard they made you a Master, I momentarily questioned the wisdom of the Council," Storm teased, chuckling at his expression.

"Storm, that's not fair! Who got me started in this life? Fine friend you are!" Atton huffed in pretend anger, smile still cracking his lips.

"I actually have something rather private to discuss with you." Storm nervously rubbed her arm, eyes studying a particularly interesting crease in her boots rather than his face.

"Alright. Ayin, would you excuse us for a minute or two?" Ayin nodded and left. "What's the matter?" Atton looked nervous as she felt.

"First, I need to know if I'm just imagining something, Atton." Storm sat down on the couch.

Atton sat next to her. "What?"

"I felt like, while we were in the process of saving the galaxy, there was, um, an attraction between us." Storm paused for a second, ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm not sure if it was my imagination, or the Force Bond, or something else entirely, but it seemed there may have been something starting between us. Was I imagining that?"

It was Atton's turn to nervously rake his fingers through his hair. "Um, no." He swallowed hard. "No, you weren't imagining that."

Storm's heart sank._ Drat._ "That's what I was afraid you'd say," she groaned, leaning her head back. _Oh, damn , this is gonna be hard…_

"Afraid? Why?" Atton looked at her suspiciously.

"Because there can't be anything. Jedi aren't allowed to fall in love," she whispered. "Kaiden's leaving the Order so she can be with Carth. We can't do that. They depend on us too much. I have to take on Kaiden's role, and you have a Padawan…" She trailed off, tears choking her. "I'm sorry, I wish there could be something. But there can't be."

"So what're we supposed to do?" Atton demanded, trying, and failing, to hide the cracks in his voice. "Just be fellow Jedi and friends, tormented by thoughts of what might have been?"

Storm sighed sadly. "Yes. I hate it, too, but the galaxy is--"

"--more important than either of us. I know." Atton looked wounded. "Well, then, Master Solo, care to tell a friend about your adventures beyond the Outer Rim?"

"Sure. But you're still allowed to call me Storm."

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When the two women met at Teele's an hour later, Kaiden looked ecstatic, Storm heartbroken. They slid into opposite sides of a booth and ordered drinks.

"Well, you go first. I take it things didn't go well?" Kaiden raised an eyebrow at Storm.

"They went terrible. Atton's a Master now, he has an apprentice, Ayin, he's become invaluable to the Order, and I have to take over as defender of the galaxy, and, unfortunately, he _did_ like me, so I had to break both our hearts saying there could never be anything because Jedi aren't allowed to love, and neither of us can leave the Order. Neither of us is very happy with the galaxy being more important, but we'll do our duty and just be friends." The story came out in an unhappy torrent, punctuated by tears and stifled sobs. "How 'bout you?"

Kaiden winced. "Well, after I convinced him I wasn't a dream, he asked me to marry him and I said yes. Wedding's tomorrow night."

"Little impatient, are we?" Storm asked caustically.

"We've waited six years. That's long enough," Kaiden pointed out in an equally acerbic tone. Her voice softened. "You're invited. If it wouldn't be too painful."

"Oh, I'll be there. I want to see at least one of our stories end on a happy note."

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The next day, Kaiden marched over to speak with the Jedi Council, Carth and Storm in her wake as moral support. Though the Council was currently only three Masters, instead of the usual twelve, she still felt overwhelmed as she walked into the Council Chamber alone, her companions waiting in the hall.

"What brings you before us today, Revan?" Master Aden asked as Kaiden approached.

"I am in violation of the Jedi Code." That got their attention, as she had intended.

"How so?" Master Kyare's one word demand cut the air like a blade.

"I have fallen in love, and have no desire to forsake it."

"Perhaps time and distance would cure you," suggested Master Aden.

Kaiden shook her head. "I just spent six years a galaxy and a half away from him. I love him even more now that I did before. I am going to marry him." Heart pounding, she unclipped her lightsaber from her belt. "Having no desire to be a snare to other Jedi by providing an example of behavior against the Code, I am leaving the Order." She placed the lightsaber on the floor in front of Master Aden and bowed. "I also relinquish my ability to use the Force, and will cease to wear Jedi robes." She turned to leave, ignoring their protests that she was Revan, the most powerful Jedi alive, they needed her. She felt the Force crumble inside of her, and gasped at the pain. _I didn't expect it to hurt so bad._ Still she walked through the door, out to the hall.

"I'm proud of you, gorgeous." Carth wrapped his arms around her from behind and pulled her close.

"Thanks." Kaiden smiled as he kissed the back of her neck. "It's nice to know someone is. They're all disappointed in me now." She reached back and rubbed the back of his neck with one hand and rested her head against his chest. "So, where to now, Admiral?"

"Well, doesn't a wedding require a dress? Don't you think you should take care of that?" Carth chuckled at Kaiden's expression.

"Do I have to wear a dress?" she moaned.

"Well, not technically, but I think Mission was really looking forward to helping you take care of that," he hinted. _If you won't wear one for you or me, gorgeous, wear it for your friends. _

"Oh, fine. Where does she want to meet?" Kaiden caved with a sigh.

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The hours flew and dragged as they only could when you were anticipating the highlight of your life. Carth and Kaiden's wedding seemed to them to be simultaneously creeping and racing closer. Dustil, back from the Outer Rim with a girl named Raenah on his arm, helped his father get ready, while Mission and Bastila took care of Kaiden.

The ceremony was simple but beautiful, much like the dress Mission picked out for Kaiden. Carth nearly stopped breathing when he saw her in it. Plain white watersilk, with a beaded design cascading down the right side like a waterfall. Sleeveless and backless, it fit closely to her curves and nearly flowed when she walked.

"Breathe, Father," Dustil chuckled in his ear. Carth gave his son a half smile, eyes never leaving Kaiden. He was glad Dustil accepted the love of his life so easily. When Kaiden reached Carth's side, he could see her grinning just as big as he was, even through her veil. Kaiden handed the small bouquet of moonflowers to Juhani and turned to face the man she loved. The two of them felt they were dreaming through the whole ceremony. The kiss at the end was the only thing either remembered for a long time after. Kaiden caught Storm watching her with longing as she and Carth left, and offered the younger woman a sympathetic smile.

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Watching Kaiden and Carth so utterly happy healed and wounded Storm's heart at the same time. _At least one of us got a happy ending._ She tried to hold back the sobs, but was forced to flee the room when she felt herself failing. Unfortunately, the room she took refuge in was occupied already, by a skinny, pale skinned girl. She was curled in the corner, hood of her apprentice's robe pulled over her head.

"Sorry," Storm muttered, preparing to retreat.

"You can stay if you like," the girl offered in wobbly yet musical voice. "Misery loves company."

Storm gave a sad smile. "Guess that's true. What's your name?"

"Ebony." The girl pulled back the hood of her robe as she answered, revealing the shock of short hair that had to be the reason behind her name. "My parents abandoned me on the steps of the Temple when I was a baby. So the Masters named for my most obvious feature."

"Why were you crying?" Storm probed, mostly to get her mind off her own heartache.

"I turn thirteen in two days and don't have a master yet. I thought maybe Master Sola would take me, but she picked someone else. Why are _you_ crying?" Silver scrubbed her eyes with the sleeve of her tunic.

"Because I can't love the man I love. So I had to give him up. The galaxy is more important. But it still hurts. Especially at a friend's wedding."

"You know Kaiden?" Silver looked awestruck.

"Yes. I traveled with her for a while," Storm simplified.

"Are you the Exile?"

"I am. And you know, I just so happen to need an apprentice," Storm hinted, watching the smile spread across Silver's face, her grey-green eyes lighting with joy from the inside.

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The watersilk dress came off much more easily than it went on. Kaiden and Carth tumbled into bed together, and lay there, blissfully entangled. One of Kaiden's arms was flung across Carth's bare chest, fingers lightly clenched on his shoulder. Her other arm snaked up behind his head to tangle in his hair as she slept. Carth had one arm under her, wrapped around her shoulders, the other resting with his hand lightly clenching the arm she'd flung across his chest. Kaiden was snuggled in close, her head resting on Carth's shoulder, his cheek pressed against her hair. They drifted off to sleep with the same thought dancing in their minds.

_Finally._

~~~~~~~~~ The End~~~~~~~


End file.
